Receive the latest entertainment-news updates in your inbox

Celebrity cook Paula Deen fought back tears as she was greeted by a supportive crowd during an appearance at a Houston cooking show. (Published Sunday, Sept. 15, 2013)

Updated at 10:21 AM EDT on Sunday, Sep 15, 2013

Celebrity cook Paula Deen fought back tears as she was greeted by a supportive crowd during an appearance at a Houston cooking show.

Paula Deen Apologizes

Embattled Food Network star Paula Deen released a video statement addressing her past use of racial slurs, which overnight became a national scandal. In the clip, Deen appears visibly upset and at times close to tears. "I beg for your forgiveness.... please forgive me for the mistakes that I've made," she said. (Published Friday, June 21, 2013)

Saturday's event was Deen's first public appearance since June when it was revealed that in an earlier legal deposition she acknowledged using racial slurs in the past. Within a few days the Food Network yanked her show off the air, Smithfield Foods dropped her as a celebrity endorser, and retailers such as Wal-Mart removed her products from shelves.

The Houston Chronicle reports (http://bit.ly/191PCco ) about 1,500 people gave Deen a standing ovation Saturday when she appeared at the Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show. She told them their hearts were "as big as your state."

Paula Deen's Second Apology

In a 46-second video posted on YouTube, Paula Deen offered up an apology for using "inappropriate, hurtful language." In this second video, Deen apologized for failing to show up for a scheduled interview on "Today" Friday to discuss her admission that she's used racial slurs in the past. (Published Saturday, June 22, 2013)

Deen held two cooking demonstrations, including tips on how to make peanut butter pie.